In my last blog post, we talked about the differences between a personality brand and a brand with a personality. Let’s take a quick moment to catch up on the differences between the two and then we’ll dive into why you might want a “brand with personality”.

When building a brand, there are basically two types you can create:

Personality Brand: This type of brand is built around a person, more specifically, that person’s personality. The person behind the brand is very much the face of the brand, and the consumer or viewer will learn much about who they are as a person–from what they like to eat, to where they like to hang-out, as well as all the things they talk about in their business.

Brand with a Personality: When creating this type of brand, you focus more on the experience you want people to have when they interact with your brand. You think about the language you use including the words and tone. You also focus on being unique, quirky and fun.

Today, we are going to explore what it means to have a brand with a personality.

In this type of branding, the brand doesn’t revolve around one person’s lifestyle or story. The focus is more about the message or service — not about the person delivering it.

Anyone familiar with Seth Godin, who is a prolific author, speaker, and copywriter, would agree that his brand is more about his message and ideas, than it is about him (even though he is very much the face of his brand) In fact, Seth rarely shares personal information about himself, his family, or his lifestyle. One look at his Twitter feed and Facebook business page reveals pictureless posts which contain only headlines and blurbs from his blog. He doesn’t interact with his audience at all. His sole purpose is to convey what his business can do for others.

And you might think – well if he isn’t sharing anything personal, how can he have a brand with personality? The answer is – this is actually ALL part of his personality and message. He is elevating his ideas above himself and showing how they apply to the world around him and companies as a whole – this lends a certain air of authority that has become his hallmark. The stories and imagery he shares in his content all have personality, and when you see pictures of him they certainly aren’t your typical hum-drum headshots. All of this combined creates a brand with personality – and his fans are loyal to his ideas which is exactly his goal.

Another great example of a brand with a personality is Red Elephant. Red Elephant is an event planning company that helps entrepreneurs stage and produce events for the sole purpose of converting attendees into raving fans (they produced Brand Your Awesome: LIVE in December). This brand has built a loyal tribe around their message, and the message is more important than the people behind the brand. If you take a look at Red Elephant’s website and email campaigns, you will see that they have infused plenty of personality into their brand through the language that ties the “Red Elephant” brand together:

“create a stampede”

“address the elephant in the room”

“join the herd”

“from the watering hole”

Creating a brand with a personality definitely has its benefits. This branding technique would be a great “fit” for you, if:

You want to create an emotional connection with your prospects and get them on board with enrolling in your message, not just buying a product from you.

You want to stand out as unique by bringing character to a product or service, so it’s more intriguing and easier for your prospects to relate to.

You don’t want to make your brand all about you, but you still want to play a really big role in your business.

During this two-part series, we have looked at personality branding and brands with a personality, and we’ve seen several examples which illustrate the main differences. My question for you today is this: Which type of branding do you think you have created, or want to create? Please leave a comment below to start the discussion.

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The Land of Brand® is where trailblazing coaching brands are born. We’ve helped dozens of coaches define, design and deliver their brands, from startups to well-known leaders. Led by Holly Chantal and a team of seasoned branding experts and coaches, The Land of Brand® creates unique solutions for our clients, solutions that stand out and take their business to new heights.